Andrea Russo, aged 35, died when he was sucked into a jet engine on Tuesday July 8. Authorities now believe it may have been a suicide, local reports are saying.
Russo was not a passenger or an airport employee. He evaded security checks at the Milan Bergamo Airport Tuesday morning. He was seen running towards the aircraft which was taxiing out. Passengers aboard the aircraft said he threw himself into the left engine of the plane. He was then sucked into the operating engine and was killed, according to Italy’s national news agency ANSA. The aircraft was carrying 154 passengers.
“I saw a man running away from the stewards,” a passenger on another flight said in a local news report. “At first he threw himself against the casings, the protections of the right engine of the plane, then he went around and either threw himself or was sucked into the impeller of the left engine: then what happened, happened.”
Russo is believed to have driven to the airport from the wrong direction before abandoning his car, running inside. He is reported to have burst through a security door and run onto the taxiway.
Airport staff and police made attempts to stop him as he reached the tarmac. Russo was from a small town about 10 miles from the airport. Volotea, which was due to depart from Bergamo to Asturias in northern Spain.
The plane had just completed boarding and was heading away from the terminal to the runway.
“We’re investigating reports of an incident involving our flight V73511 BGY-OVD, which occurred on the ground after boarding was completed and ready for departure,” Volotea posted on X.
“We’re aware that one individual has sustained serious injuries involving the aircraft engine. More information soon.”
Flights at the airport were shut down for almost two hours.